Procedure:Your appointment will take approximately one (1) hour. No sedation will be given and you will not need a driver to take you home.

If you have any questions, please call 415-600-1138.

Esophageal Manometry Description:

Your esophagus is made up of many muscles that contract and relax when you are swallowing. With Esophageal Manometry, your physician is able to measure the contraction of your esophagus, as well as the strength of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). The purpose of the LES is to close off the esophagus when food is being digested in the stomach. When the LES is weak, the powerful acid which helps digest your food can reflux back into the esophagus casing inflammation and pain.

The primary benefit of Esophageal Manometry is that your physician has documentation of how your esophagus muscles work. The test can evaluate symptoms of persistent upper abdominal pain, difficulty swallowing, or heart burn.

During the Esophageal Manometry Test:

Esophageal Manometry will be preformed by a registered nurse and will takes approximately ½ hour to complete. A thin, flexible, plastic tube called a manometry catheter with tiny pressure sensors along its wall is gently passed through the nose, beyond the throat, and into the esophagus. You may experience some mild gagging during the catheter insertion, but this feeling should quickly pass once the manometry catheter is into the esophagus. Once the catheter is in place, you will be either sitting up or laying on your left side during the procedure. The manometry catheter will measure the esophageal motility and pressures.

During your Esophageal Manometry, you will be given 10 sips of water. In between each sip of water, you will be asked to try not to swallow for about 30 seconds in order to evaluate the contractions as the water moves down your esophagus. Once you have completed 10 sips of water, you will be given a bite of a cracker to assess the muscle contractions with solid food. Then lastly you will be given one more sip of water.

After the last sip of water, the manometry catheter will be removed and the test is completed.

After the Esophageal Manometry Test:

Following the Esophageal Manometry test, you may experience a mild sore throat, which should resolve in a couple of hours after the tube is removed. The test is usually well tolerated with no serious problems or side effects.

Unless instructed differently by your physician, after the Esophageal Manometry, you may resume all normal activities, eating, drinking and taking your medication.

Center for Neurogastroenterology and Motility at CPMC

California Pacific Medical Center

California Pacific Neuroscience Institute.Center for Neurogastroenterology and Motility in San Francisco features some of the top-rated gastrointestinal (GI) disease doctors in the San Francisco Bay Area, Marin county and Northern California. Providing personalized patient care using the most successful motility diagnosis and treatment available is what we do best.